{"id":10026,"date":"2016-05-23T11:22:33","date_gmt":"2016-05-23T19:22:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mlmlblog.wordpress.com\/?p=10026"},"modified":"2020-10-23T11:55:38","modified_gmt":"2020-10-23T18:55:38","slug":"whale-apalooza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/student-life\/2016\/05\/23\/whale-apalooza\/","title":{"rendered":"Whale-apalooza!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By\u00a0Catherine Drake<\/a>,\u00a0Invertebrate Zoology Lab<\/a><\/h3>\n
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This fin whale was photographed in our bay on May 2, 2016. Photo by Giancarlo Thomae. Check out more of his photographs at: http:\/\/www.thomaephotography.com\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

These are some exciting times in the Monterey Bay! Recently, five<\/u><\/strong> different species of whales have \u00a0been spotted within our bay! We all have probably seen the humpbacks that have been\u00a0hanging around since there is still available food for them. Normally, they are only here April to October and are otherwise migrating south to their calving grounds, but the last few years they\u2019ve been staying put as the water has been warm and the food has been plentiful.<\/p>\n

Additionally, as straggling gray whale moms with their calves head north to Alaska (usually they're here in January and February), orcas are chasing the moms<\/a> in hopes of separating them from their calves. \"When I find a dead gray whale the first thing I do is I go look at the tongue, and if it is missing, I know it was killed by a killer whale,\" our very own director Jim Harvey\u00a0told the Monterey Herald<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These three species of cetaceans (science-y word for dolphins, whales, narwhals) have also\u00a0been joined by blue whales and fin whales. It's not uncommon to see blue whales along our coast, but they are often seen further offshore. However, this week a blue whale was spotted only a mile or two offshore<\/a>\u00a0of the Monterey Bay Aquarium eating krill.<\/p>\n

As for fin whales<\/a>, not much is known about this elusive species. They are said to have a \u201ccosmopolitan\u201d distribution, meaning they can be found in most oceans around the world. As a result, their migration patterns aren\u2019t well known. Scientists believe that the North Atlantic population may migrate south past Bermuda and into the West Indies. On our coast, fin whales are more often seen in the Gulf of California year round, with more appearing in the winter and spring.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fun Facts About These Five Cetaceans:<\/strong><\/p>\n